A mechanic was left stunned

A mechanic was left stunned after he opened a car bonnet to begin repairs … and found a rabbit.

Brian Donn, 37, discovered the bunny in Fiona Blakey’s Ford Focus after she’d unwittingly drove 12 miles to the garage with the furry stowaway.

And the mechanic had his work cut out to rescue the creature, as it had its head stuck in part of the warm engine.

Brian 37, of Roddy’s Garage in Oban, Argyll, said: “I lifted the bonnet and there was this wee furry thing in the corner.

“I was surprised but I tried to lift it out, then I realised it was stuck.

“Maybe when Fiona started the engine, it just headed off and got stuck. It was in the corner of the bulkhead, behind the wing, stuck by its head.”

But after patiently removing some parts, Brian managed to release the rabbit, which survived its ordeal unscathed.

Brian added: “It was just kind of sitting there, so I pulled it out gently. It just looked and saw that it was free and it was off.”

Garage owner Roddy MacIsaac videoed the episode on his mobile phone.

And he reckons it was just good fortune that they were able to save the bunny. He said: “This must be the luckiest rabbit on the planet. That car only comes in here three times a year and if it hadn’t come into us on that particular day, the rabbit would have died.

“It had gone in a corner, just below the windscreen on the passenger side. It took us about 15 minutes to free it.”

He said that while they sometimes came across mice or birds under a bonnet, this was the first rabbit.

Roddy said: “I have been working with cars for years and we have never found a rabbit before. It was a strange thing.”

Car owner Fiona said: “Roddy phoned my up and asked me if I had any pets and I said, ‘No.’ Then he said, ‘Are you sure you are not missing a rabbit? We have pulled one out of your engine.'” She added: “There were two wild rabbits in my garden but now there is only one.

“I am just really glad that it made the journey from Taynuilt to Oban without any mishap.

“There were munch marks around the plastic in the engine, so I think it was used to going in there. I am just glad it didn’t come a cropper.”